If you’re looking for the Connections answer for Tuesday, September 23, 2025, read on—I’ll share some clues, tips, and strategies, and finally the solutions to all four categories. Along the way, I’ll explain the meanings of the trickier words and we’ll learn how everything fits together. Beware, there are spoilers below for September 23, NYT Connections #835! Read on if you want some hints (and then the answer) to today’s Connections game.
If you want an easy way to come back to our Connections hints every day, bookmark this page. (If you play Wordle, Strands, or Quordle, check out our hints for those games, too.)
Below, I’ll give you some oblique hints at today’s Connections answers. And farther down the page, I’ll reveal the themes and the answers. Scroll slowly and take just the hints you need!
The category types in today’s Connections puzzle
Here are spoiler-free hints that describe the type of each category in today’s Connections:
Yellow category – Synonyms.
Green category – Parts of a whole.
Blue category – Related nouns.
Purple category – Pop culture.
Hints for the themes in today’s Connections puzzle
Here are some spoiler-free hints for the groupings in today’s Connections:
Yellow category – How good news might make you feel.
Green category – Say it three times fast, if you can.
Blue category – They go with you to the airport.
Purple category – It’s the titular role!
BEWARE: Spoilers follow for today’s Connections puzzle!
We’re about to give away some of the answers. Scroll slowly if you don’t want the whole thing spoiled. (The full solution is a bit further down.)
A heads up about the tricky parts
RUBBER and BOUNCY do not go together.
FERRIS is a fictional person’s name, and does not refer to a wheel at a fair. (Therefore, MERRY does not go with “go round,” either.)
Today’s green category contains words in a sentence that an actor or public speaker might use to help them warm up.
What are the categories in today’s Connections?
Yellow: CHEERFUL
Green: ”RUBBER BABY BUGGY BUMPER”
Blue: KINDS OF LUGGAGE
Purple: TITLE CHARACTERS IN ‘80S MOVIES
DOUBLE BEWARE: THE SOLUTION IS BELOW
Ready to learn the answers to today’s Connections puzzle? I give them all away below.
What are the yellow words in today’s Connections?
The yellow grouping is considered to be the most straightforward. The theme for today’s yellow group is CHEERFUL and the words are: BOUNCY, BRIGHT, MERRY, SUNNY.
What are the green words in today’s Connections?
The green grouping is supposed to be the second-easiest. The theme for today’s green category is ”RUBBER BABY BUGGY BUMPER” and the words are: BABY, BUGGY, BUMPER, RUBBER.
What are the blue words in today’s Connections?
The blue grouping is the second-hardest. The theme for today’s blue category is KINDS OF LUGGAGE and the words are: CARRY-ON, DUFFEL, HARD-SHELL, ROLLER.
What are the purple words in today’s Connections?
The purple grouping is considered to be the hardest. The theme for today’s purple category is TITLE CHARACTERS IN ‘80S MOVIES and the words are: FERRIS, HEATHER, INDIANA, PEE-WEE.
How I solved today’s Connections
FERRIS could refer to a FERRIS wheel, or it could refer to FERRIS Bueller, the movie protagonist. I wonder if FERRIS, INDIANA, and PEE-WEE go together as the first names of male characters from the ‘80s (INDIANA Jones and PEE-WEE Herman being the other two). I’m not sure about a fourth there yet.
DUFFEL, CARRY-ON, HARD-SHELL, and ROLLER might all be types of luggage. 🟦
RUBBER, BABY, BUGGY, and BUMPER all make up parts of a common tongue-twister phrase, but that might be a red herring. Let’s try. 🟩 OK!
Looks like MERRY, BOUNCY, SUNNY, and BRIGHT go together to describe positive or happy dispositions. 🟨
That means HEATHER is the final protagonist to go with PEE-WEE, FERRIS, and INDIANA. That must go with the movie Heathers. So it’s not male characters, just ‘80s movie protagonists. 🟪
Connections Puzzle #835 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟪🟪🟪🟪
How to play Connections
I have a full guide to playing Connections, but here’s a refresher on the rules:
First, find the Connections game either on the New York Times website or in their Games app (formerly the Crossword app). You’ll see a game board with 16 tiles, each with one word or phrase. Your job is to select a group of four tiles that have something in common. Often they are all the same type of thing (for example: RAIN, SLEET, HAIL, and SNOW are all types of wet weather) but sometimes there is wordplay involved (for example, BUCKET, GUEST, TOP TEN, and WISH are all types of lists: bucket list, guest list, and so on).
Select four items and hit the Submit button. If you guessed correctly, the category and color will be revealed. (Yellow is easiest, followed by green, then blue, then purple.) If your guess was incorrect, you’ll get a chance to try again.
You win when you’ve correctly identified all four groups. But if you make four mistakes before you finish, the game ends and the answers are revealed.
How to win Connections
The most important thing to know to win Connections is that the groupings are designed to be tricky. Expect to see overlapping groups. For example, one puzzle seemed to include six breakfast foods: BACON, EGG, PANCAKE, OMELET, WAFFLE, and CEREAL. But BACON turned out to be part of a group of painters along with CLOSE, MUNCH, and WHISTLER, and EGG was in a group of things that come by the dozen (along with JUROR, ROSE, and MONTH). So don’t hit “submit” until you’ve confirmed that your group of four contains only those four things.
If you’re stuck, another strategy is to look at the words that seem to have no connection to the others. If all that comes to mind when you see WHISTLER is the painting nicknamed “Whistler’s Mother,” you might be on to something. When I solved that one, I ended up googling whether there was a painter named Close, because Close didn’t fit any of the obvious themes, either.
Another way to win when you’re stuck is, obviously, to read a few helpful hints–which is why we share these pointers every day. Check back tomorrow for the next puzzle!